First Day of My Life
by Pia O'Leary
Summary: Companion piece to Time to Burn, but stand alone as well. Lily Evans absolutely despises James Potter, but he has fallen desperately in love with her. Will he ever be able to get her to love him? What's going to happen when an old foe gets exactly what
1. Making Sense of Women, yeah right!

Chapter 1

Lily Evans sighed and plopped down in her seat; her friends weren't here yet so she had decided to save an empty cabin. She couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts; the summer had been almost unbearable with her sister, Petunia, and her horrible boyfriend. She smiled as she saw a streak of black hair fly past her window; only one girl in all of Hogwarts had hair like that.

"Well if it isn't Lillian Evans!"

"Mae! Ohmygosh!" Lily got up and ran to Mae, who was standing at the door of the compartment. She hugged her tightly and then helped her lug her trunk inside. "How was your summer?!" Mae Venetia was Lily's best friend; they had been friends since their first day at Hogwarts. Now, in their fifth year, they had managed to remain as close as ever.

"Well except missing everyone terribly ... it was fun! My dad took me to a Quidditch game! It was brilliant!" Lily sighed; no one in her family was non-muggle except her. Mae's family was pureblood so they always took her to cool wizarding places like Quidditch games, etc. "I was going to invite you ... but I thought Petunia would have a fit if I sent an owl, so I didn't."

"Good thing ... she had her insufferable boyfriend there ... they kept complaining about us magic folk." Lily sighed again and shook her head. Just then, Lily and Mae heard the unmistakable laughs of Gina Miller and Toni Everett, the other half of their group. They both got up and Lily slid open the compartment door. "Gina! Toni!" They squealed and ran down the hallway to hug Lily and Mae. The four of them sat down in their compartment and started talking about their summers.

Lily had curly, red hair and bright green eyes that twinkled when she smiled. Mae, on the other hand, had long, straight black hair and eyes the color of dark chocolate. Gina was a short, spunky girl with short brown hair and smiling blue eyes. Lastly, Toni had shoulder length, wavy, dirty blonde hair and chestnut colored eyes. A little while later, the train started but they barely noticed, still talking. There was a short knock on their compartment door and it slid open to reveal the Marauders; James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Bryant Mantreh. James was the unmistakable leader; he and Sirius planned most of the pranks. Their time at Hogwarts seemed to be a never-ending string of detentions. Remus and Bryant, however, seemed to be able to duck out of detentions a little better than James and Sirius. While the four girls were the most beautiful, popular fifth years, the Marauders were easily the best looking, most popular boys at Hogwarts. Even the older girls fawned over them constantly, especially James. He had hazel eyes and black hair that never looked neat. Sirius, although considerably more obnoxious, still had his own fan club. Like James, his black hair never seemed neat, although he was able to tame it for special occasions. The most mysterious, to most of the girls at Hogwarts, was Remus. He kept quiet most of the time, not loud and over the top like James and Sirius. Finally there was Bryant; undeniably the most dashing of the Marauders. He had light brown hair and mischievous green eyes.

"Halo!" Sirius smiled cheerfully. "Lily, Mae, Gina, and Antonia!"

"Don't call me that Sirius!" Toni glared at him.

"Why not that's your name, isn't it?" James smiled at her innocently.

"No, my name is Toni! You'd think after 3 years you could get it straight!" Everyone laughed as Toni scowled.

"Have a good summer, Remus?"

"Fair, how about you Lily?" Lily snorted and made a face.

"You do remember that I spent the summer with my sister and her boyfriend, right?" Everyone laughed.

The four girls were sitting on one side of the compartment and the Marauders sat down on the other side. Bryant smiled at Mae, who simply raised her eyebrows to acknowledge his existence. He then walked over to Lily, who was sitting between Mae and the window, and pulled her onto her feet. He nudged her towards James and sat down in her now empty seat. Stumbling over Mae's trunk, Lily landed squarely in James's lap. James quickly wrapped his arms around her waist tightly.

"Why hello Lily!" She simply glared at him; with a look of defeat, he released her. She got up quickly and sat down in the only unoccupied seat, next to James. "Why don't you like me Lily?"

"Because you are the most arrogant, annoying human being on the planet!" James gave her a hurt look, which she ignored. She took a book out of Mae's trunk and started reading it.

"How was your summer, Mae?"

"Same as always, Bryant," Mae answered dryly as she continued to stare out the window. Out of the corner of her eye, Mae saw Bryant stare at the floor helplessly. She smiled and slipped her hand into his. He looked up and grinned at her.

Sirius, Gina, and Toni were talking animatedly about some prank or another. Sirius kept trying to involve James in the conversation, but James just ignored him. What about him made Lily despise him so much? Just as he was about to attempt a civil conversation with her, there was a knock on the compartment door. It slid open; Amos Diggory, a fifth year Ravenclaw was standing there.

"Hi Lily!" Lily looked up from her book and smiled.

"Hi Amos!"

"I umm ... thought you might like to join us in our compartment for a little while ... seeing as I haven't talked to you all summer." He smiled hopefully.

"Sure, I'd love to." Lily stood up and put her book away, then she and Amos walked out of the compartment.

"Sorry mate ... she'll come around." Remus patted his friend on the shoulder.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," James stated indignantly.

"Oh please James! You've been trying to get Lily since you met her during second year. We all know you like her." Bryant shook his head smiling.

** Flashback **

"Hi, I'm James."

"I'm sure you are ... can I do something for you?" Lily looked up from her book, annoyed.

"I thought you could umm ... help me with ... my Transfiguration essay, seeing as you're in my class?" James slapped himself mentally; where was his infamous Potter charm? He could make any girl in the school fall over herself to get to him and now he was stuttering like an idiot.

"I heard you were friends with Remus Lupin ... he's good with Transfiguration, why don't you ask him?" Lily picked up her bag and walked quickly out of the Library, James plopped down in her now empty chair.

"Tough luck, mate. But, hey, you've got all of Hogwarts. Why worry about one girl?" Sirius nudged him, smiling.

"She isn't just one girl! She's the most gorgeous girl in all of Hogwarts!" Sirius looked at him in confusion. "Why is it that she's the only one able to resist my charm?"

"Well everyone has bad days, James!"

"No ... "

** Back to the Present **

"Yeah, Potter's been whipped since that day!"

"Take a look in the mirror Bry!" James snapped. "Sorry ... I didn't mean that ... she just ... it doesn't make any sense at all!" James put his hands to his face and then ran his fingers through his hair.

"What? That a girl that can turn you down actually exists?" Toni grinned.

"But why does she like that Amos prat?"

"Amos Diggory is not a prat and don't let Lily catch you saying that either!" James sighed.

"Then you tell me what I'm supposed to do, Mae!"

"I don't –" Just then, Lily appeared at the compartment door, smiling. Then, seeing the expressions of her friends, her smile faded.

"What's going on?"

"Just talking about the summer," Remus replied smoothly. "You look happy."

"Yeah ... Mae, can I talk to you?" Mae looked at her questioningly but got up and followed her out of the compartment, nonetheless.

"What's up?"

"He asked me out!" Lily smiled at her friend excitedly and Mae managed a weak smile.

"That's great Lily! Wait, you said yes right?"

"Of course!" Lily rolled her eyes; like she would have said anything else! She had had a crush on Amos since the beginning of last year. "I wanted to tell you first!" Mae hugged Lily tightly, trying to sound happy.

"That's brilliant!"

"She's going out with that prat?!" James let out a cry of frustration and sank into his bed. "What the bloody hell is she doing that for?!"

"I don't know ... I'm sorry, mate. Mae told me in the carriages on the way over here. She wanted you to hear it from us before you heard the rumors and blew up at Lily." Sirius, Remus, and Bryant were sitting on Bryant's bed, next to James's.

"She has had a crush on him." Remus said, slightly fearful of James's reaction.

"That git doesn't deserve her!"

"Like you do?" Remus snorted. "I'm sorry, I didn't –"

"No, you're right ... but I deserve her more than he does!" The other three chuckled; James was, admittedly, arrogant.

"James ... don't piss her off by saying anything about Diggory." James sat bolt upright on his bed.

"Excuse me, Bryant?"

"Don't get mad ... I just ... look, Mae tells me a lot of stuff that goes on behind closed doors. Lily is already on the verge of murdering you, don't give her any more reasons to."

"He's right, James." Sirius was shocked to find himself agreeing.

"She doesn't really hate you ... you just annoy her." Bryant shrugged; trying to understand women gave him a headache.

"Then that's it! Oh I'm bloody brilliant!" Remus stood up and grinned like an idiot. "I'm a bloody genius! What would you do without me?"

"What the bloody hell are you talking about you git?" James glared at him, annoyed.

"Oh don't you get it?!"

"NO!" Sirius, Bryant, and James said at the same time.

"Just show her your other side! Ask her to go to Hogsmeade with you. Be kind and gentle, not an obnoxious prankster. Once she sees that you're not always a git then she'll ignore it!" Remus smiled triumphantly and sat back down.

"Are you sure I can do that?"

"Of course you can!"

"Are you sure it will work?" James looked doubtful.

Remus smiled, "James, I've known Lily since we were 5 years old." That was true; their families had lived on the same block until Lily had moved away and she and Remus had managed to stay in touch. In truth, the friendship between Lily and Remus had brought the two groups of friends together into one big group of friends. "I'm absolutely 100 percent sure that it will work."

"You are a bloody genius." James smiled, but then it faded. "What about Diggory ... he'll be around her all the time now that they're going out."

"No, Diggory's on the Quidditch team, they do have practices."

"So do we –" Remus cut him off.

"Not at the same time! And if he is around her that much, the relationship won't last long. She hates being stifled, that's why she broke up with that Wood bloke." Sirius, Bryant, and James burst out laughing as Remus blushed.

"Well as long as Remus doesn't start PMS'ing any time soon, the plan should work out fine." Sirius stopped laughing as Remus hit him upside the head. "Ow!"

"But seriously, thanks." James smiled; it actually felt like he was somewhat closer to finally getting Lily to like him, or at least not despise him.

"Come on, we're supposed to meet the girls by the lake." Remus grabbed his cloak.

"Yeah, Toni said they got some cake or something from the kitchens!" Sirius smiled brightly and they all headed down to the lake.

A/N: Yay! It's finally finished! I'm sorry that I had to put Time to Burn on hold, but this was really worth it. This is a companion piece to Time to Burn, but they both stand alone. I hope you all liked this ... see that button that says Review? Make me super happy by pressing it! I hope those of you that are reading Time to Burn enjoyed this! (I'm sure you can all guess who Mae and Bryant are!) Chapter 2 will be up by the end of the week (as long as my English teacher doesn't attempt to kill us with homework!)

Disclaimer: You all know the drill ... I own only Bryant, Mae, Gina, Toni and the situation. The rest of it belongs to the great JK Rowling!


	2. Kisses, Slaps, and Secret Plans

Chapter 2

"Hello Lily!" James smiled sweetly and sat down next to her. She looked up from her book and then back down again.

"James." James sighed and lay back on the grass; Sirius, Bryant, and Remus were stuffing themselves full of sweets. Lily was sitting slightly away from the eating festival. Mae looked at Bryant disgustedly; Gina and Toni shrugged and joined the boys in eating. "Something wrong?"

"What? Oh, no ... I was just thinking."

"Don't hurt yourself." Lily smirked.

_God why does she have to look so beautiful when she insults me?_ James thought. "So I heard you and Diggory are officially and item?"

"Hmm, o yeah ... I guess."

"What? Does Lillian Evans sound disappointed?" Lily glared at James, who simply smiled as sweet as ever.

"No! Well I mean ..."

"Let's go for a walk, Lily." James quickly got up and grabbed Lily's hand, dragging her to her feet. She tried to pull against him, but he was too strong; she finally gave in and her book fell to the ground. As they walked towards the pitch James put his arm around Lily's waist. He didn't know exactly what he was doing, but he figured he'd let the mood take them wherever it willed.

"James!" She wriggled out of his grasp and shot daggers at him with her eyes. "I don't know why the bloody hell I'm here in the first place!" James smiled; he just couldn't resist, he had to do something.

In one fluid motion, James wrapped his arms around Lily, pulled her close, and kissed her. She pulled away quickly and stared at him, wide-eyed. _She has such beautiful eyes,_ James thought.

"You bastard!" Lily screamed. She walked close to him, James thought for a moment she was going to kiss him. But all thoughts of kissing her evaporated as her hand connected with his cheek. "Don't you ever touch me again." Lily started to walk back towards the school, but turned around and slapped James again.

Mae, Gina, Toni, Bryant, Sirius, and Remus came running up to James; they had heard Lily scream. "What in the bloody hell is going on?" Mae looked around for Lily, but she had already returned to the school.

"Dammit!"

"James ... what did you do?" Remus looked at his friend, trying to decide if he wanted to know the answer to his question or not.

"I ... I kissed ... bloody hell I kissed Lily!" James sat down and the ground and buried his head in his hands.

"You really fucked things up this time, James!" Mae yelled, then she, Gina, and Toni turned and started for the school.

"What the bloody hell did you go and kiss her for?" Remus stared down at James, amazed that he would do something so stupid. "Do you realize you just royally screwed up the plans?"

"No shit Remus! I don't know why I kissed her! She was just yelling and then ... and her lips ... and I couldn't help myself ... I thought she would you know ..."

"Melt like every other girl in the entire school. Well I've got news for you, James. Lily is not like every other girl in the entire school! She's different! She's not going to let you anywhere near her until she knows she can trust you not to act like an asshole," Remus spat.

"And you've pretty much screwed all chances of that!" Bryant shook his head in frustration. If Lily was upset that meant Mae was upset, which was definitely not good news for the undefined relationship he and Mae had.

"I know! Bloody hell I know!" James pounded his fists on the ground, why couldn't he have controlled himself? Just this once?

"Well there's nothing we can do about it now, mates. You just better hope that Lily can find it in her heart not to murder you." Sirius shook his head; James had gotten himself in deep this time.

"Lily! Lily what happened?" Mae tore the hangings on Lily's bed apart.

"That bastard! He kissed me! Can you believe it? He knows I'm with Amos!" Lily pulled on her hair.

"Woah! Chill out for a minute, Lil." Toni pushed Lily's hands back down to her sides and the three of them sat down on her bed.

"And how exactly am I supposed to calm down?! I just cheated on my boyfriend! I haven't even been with him for 12 hours and I've already cheated on him!" Lily let out a cry of frustration and fell back on her bed.

"It's not considered cheating unless you are a willing participant." Mae said, matter-of-factly.

"Ugh! I can't believe I just kissed James Potter!" Lily covered her face with her hands.

"Do you know how many girls would die to be in your position?" Gina giggled; she still didn't understand what made all the girls fawn over James. He was arrogant and immature, among other things. However, she had to admit that he wasn't half bad looking either.

"Well I would die not to be in this position!"

"Come on, Lily. It won't be that bad. After you slapped him, he's bound to back off –"

"How did you know that I slapped him, Mae?"

"You mean besides the bright red hand print on his cheek?" Lily smiled sheepishly and the four girls burst into a fit of giggles. When they finally regained their composure, Mae said, "Just make sure Amos is ... ever-present. That should put James in his place." Gina and Toni nodded in agreement; what James had done was low. He knew how Lily felt and he knew Lily was with Amos.

"Where's Lily?"

"Funny you should ask that, Bryant." Mae said his name harshly and he cringed. "If you all must know, she had some food brought upstairs. She wanted to finish reading her summer book before classes start. Now, if you'll excuse us, we've got some reading to do as well." Mae grabbed a few muffins and some fruit and she, Gina, and Toni walked back out of the Great Hall.

"Dammit Potter!"

"Sod off Bryant!"

"Oh shut the hell up both of you! This isn't getting us anywhere. It's bad enough the girls are mad at us, let's not fight amongst ourselves." Remus shook his head and stared, disgustedly, and his plate.

"Well what are we supposed to do now?" Sirius looked out the window, wistfully.

"Hell if I know ... let's just go down to the pitch and do some flying." Bryant got up and started for the door. Remus and Sirius followed, but they soon realized that James hadn't budged from his seat at the Gryffindor table. He had only spoken three words since last night; sod off Bryant.

"James, you gotta get over this."

"How the bloody hell would you feel if the girl you ... you fell so hard for absolutely hated your guts? Don't bloody tell me to get over this! Sod off!" With that, James stormed out of the Great Hall, leaving his three friends stunned.

"I knew he liked her ... but –" Bryant ran his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, I didn't know he felt ..." Sirius stopped, mid-sentence.

"So strongly." Remus stared after James.

Lily heard a soft knock on the door; she finished up her eyeliner and went to answer it. She opened the door a crack to see James Potter standing in front of her. She quickly slammed the door shut again.

"Lily, please! I just want to talk to you."

"We have nothing to talk about James!" She yelled at the door.

"Lily, I'm sorry ... I shouldn't have done that. I know you're with Amos. It was stupid ... I should have ..." Before James could finish his broken sentence, the door of the Dormitory opened again.

"James, I thought I said I didn't want to talk to you! Now leave me alone!" James didn't budge; he looked at her pleadingly. It had been hard enough to drag himself up here and apologize, he wasn't going to give up now.

"Please, Lily!"

"James, god why do you have to be so bloody persistent?! I'm with Amos, get that through your thick skull!"

"Well I'm sorry but that prat doesn't deserve you in the least!" Lily's eyes got very wide, again. She blinked a few times, trying to comprehend what James had just said. He swallowed hard; he knew he had made a terrible mistake. Before James could realize what was happening, he felt Lily's hand connect with his cheek for the third time in 24 hours. She glared at him briefly and then slammed the door.

"Way to go mate, twice in 24 hours. That's gotta be a record." James glared at Sirius, who was standing at the bottom of the Dormitory stairs. James touched his smarting cheek.

"Come on, James. The weather's perfect for some Quidditch." James sighed and started down the stairs. Remus smiled and the four of them started for the Quidditch field.

A/N: I know, I know, kinda short. But I wanted to get it done. I'm super stressed right now, so the ending isn't the best. (If it weren't for Mike, it would have ended with James pulling out a knife and stabbing everyone repeatedly ... many apologies, super stressed) Please review; your reviews always seem to brighten my day a little bit. Don't worry; James won't receive any more slaps in the near future. Hope you all liked it!

Disclaimer: You know who I own and who I don't so don't sue!


	3. New Aquaintances and Vicious Pranks

Chapter 3

"Lily, can I talk to you?"

"Sure Remus." Lily quickly moved her books off of the seat next to her so Remus could sit down. "What's up?"

"Look, I know you don't want to hear this from me, but you're going to so just shutup for one second and listen." Lily was slightly shocked at Remus's words, but said nothing. "I know you're bloody pissed at James right now, but he's miserable. He nearly fell of his broom yesterday!"

"That's a bloody load of crap!" Lily said indignantly.

"No, its not. Ask Bryant and Sirius; he was flying around and didn't even see a Bludger coming straight at his head. Luckily it hit him in the stomach and he didn't hurt himself. Now, Lily, we both know that James should've seen that Bludger coming a mile away, but he didn't." Remus stopped to sigh, but Lily interrupted.

"That doesn't mean it has anything to do with me."

"Oh, wait, I'm not finished yet. When we asked him what happened he said, and I quote 'She called me a bastard, I'm not a bastard am I? She's just so beautiful, I couldn't stop myself'." Lily sank back into the couch, looking defeated.

"Are you sure you heard him correctly?"

"I think you know the answer to that question. Look, he's a wreck and it's just causing everyone more stress than any of us need. Bryant's ready to shoot him because Mae's all upset about what he did. And you know Mae, if she's upset about one thing it messes up everything else. Sirius is ready to shoot him because every time he asks James about pranks, he says how much you hated this prank or that prank. And I'm ready to shoot you all because this is so bloody stupid!" Lily's eyes widened and then her shock turned to a glare. "Oh, please Lily! I've known you since you were five years old, despite the fact that you won't admit it to Mae or anyone else, we both know you didn't entirely hate the opportunity to kiss James Potter." Remus smiled as Lily just stared at him. "Well, anyways, I've got somewhere to be. Talk to James, it will do us all a lot of good. See you in the morning." Remus smiled again, all too cheerily and practically skipped out of the Common Room. Lily stared after him, still not believing what he had said to her. What was all the more unbelievable was the fact that every single word was true. Of course, she hated James Potter, but there was something about that kiss ... something that happened whenever he touched her ... something weird, but strangely pleasant.

Lily shook her head several times; did she actually like James Potter? No way! That's impossible! She shook her head a final time and went back to her homework. A few hours later, she dragged herself into bed, not noticing that James had been sitting at the Common Room table, trying to get up enough courage to talk to her for about two hours.

"Mae! Come on, Mae!"

"Oh sod off, Bryant! I told you I'm not in the mood to deal with you right now!" Mae turned around to storm off, but walked right into Remus. He caught her before she fell and smiled.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow Bryant for a moment?" Mae glared at Remus.

"Whatever. You" Mae turned and pointed to Bryant and then sighed, losing her anger at seeing his dashing smile. "I'll meet you in the Common Room later and we can talk then, okay?"

"Whatever you want, Mae." Bryant smiled again and Mae walked away. "I owe you, Remus."

"Well, I'm glad to be of service and everything, but I really did have something to talk to you about." Bryant and Remus exchanged knowing glances. "We have to find Sirius first though. You look inside, I'll look outside and we'll meet in the Room of Requirement in half an hour." Bryant nodded and started up the marble staircase. It may have seemed unfair for Bryant to have to search the whole castle, but there were only a few places where Sirius could possibly be.

Bryant found Sirius talking to Toni in the Library. "Why won't you go to Hogsmeade with me, my Antonia?"

"I'm going to save Toni the displeasure of having to answer that question, and you the displeasure of having to hear the answer by interrupting now." Toni smiled thankfully at Bryant and Sirius looked up at him annoyed. "Remus wants to talk to us ... I suspect its about you know who and the you know what."

"Huh? OH! That you know what with the you know whos! Right, I'll talk to you later, my Antonia." Sirius leaned over and kissed Toni's hand. She just stared at him, confused, but before she could ask what the you know what was and who the you know whos were, they left.

"I _was_ in the middle of something you know!"

"I'm sure she was almost ready to agree to go out with you â€ or whatever you were asking. But, not my decision. Remus interrupted my conversation with Mae as well, except I think it may have been for the better." Sirius rolled his eyes at Bryant, and they walked in silence the rest of the way to the Room of Requirement.

"Well?" Bryant and Sirius sat on the couch in the Room of Requirement staring up at Remus, who was pacing, expectantly.

"Oh, sorry I was thinking about â€ anyways. I talked to Lily, she seems like she might forgive James for ... you know."

"Really? That's brilliant, but that doesn't really help the overall cause."

"On the contrary, Bryant. Just before I left, I told her â€ well I just said aloud what everyone already knows; that she didn't entirely despise the opportunity to kiss James." Remus smiled triumphantly, thinking about what Lily's reaction would have been, had he stayed long enough to see it.

"Yes! Brilliant, Moony!" Sirius got up and did a little jig, before Bryant pushed him back onto the couch.

"No more sugar for him, okay?" Sirius stuck his tongue out at Bryant, who just laughed along with Remus.

"I don't know how long it will take her to forgive him â€ but in the mean time we have to bring James back to reality. Its too ... quiet without him here." Remus ran a hand through his messy hair.

"Well he's here, at Hogwarts!"

"No, you git, we're talking about James not being here, on earth. He's always thinking about Lily or something to do with Lily, never pranks." Bryant rolled his eyes exasperatedly. "But, exactly how, are we supposed to get James to come back down to reality?"

"Well knowing James, he can't pass up the perfect opportunity to prank someone â€ well more than once at least. So we just have to make sure that some of those 'opportunities' come his way." Remus smiled again, a plan on how exactly to do that, already forming in his head.

"I do have to say, mates, this business of getting Lily and James together is quite exhausting."

_Dear Diary,_

_ I thought about what Remus said the other day, and I'm sorry to say that I think he might be right. I'm going to go talk to James today, I suppose I can at least forgive him for kissing me. Especially since it was such a good kiss â€ oh my god, did I just write that?! Eww, scratch that! Anyways, I'm going to talk to him at lunch and tell him that I accept his apology, but he better act like more of a gentleman from now on. I'm a little bit worried about what his reaction will be ... I wonder if he'll kiss me again? Oh god! I can't believe I just wrote that! I better go before I make myself throw up. I'll write again at the end of lunch and let you know what happened._

_Lily  
_

"Hello, Lily. Would you mind if I walked you to Lunch?" Lucius Malfoy smiled sweetly at Lily and held out his hand.

"Of course." Lily smiled back and took it; despite his cruelty to some people, Lily had always liked Lucius. He was a Slytherin, but had never done anything to make Lily not like him. James and the Marauders, on the other hand, never got tired of tormenting Lucius and his best friend, Severus Snape. Lucius got even most of the time, but Severus was rarely so lucky.

"I was wondering if you would help me with the Transfiguration homework." Lucius smiled hopefully; Transfiguration was his worst subject, and Lily's best.

"I'd be happy to ... but would you help me with the potion he assigned today? I can never seem to get it perfect." Lily shook her head in frustration; she was usually the perfect student, but somehow that day's potion had come out wrong.

"Sure! I'll find you at dinner and we can go to the Library." Lucius smiled again. Even though Lily was a Gryffindor, no one in the entire school would begrudge a Slytherin for trying to date her. She was beautiful, nice, and the perfect student. A few Slytherins whispered as they saw Lucius and Lily holding hands. Just as they were about to enter the Great Hall, they noticed a large group of students on the front lawn of the school. "That bloody Potter ... I bet he's got Severus again." Lucius sighed as he and Lily walked towards the group.

James was standing on the very inside of the group, facing Severus Snape. He shouted something and Severus was immediately turned upside down and started floating in the air.

"Leave him alone Potter!" Lucius started to push his way towards James, but Lily put a hand on his arm.

"Let me handle this, Lucius." Lily walked calmly towards James and the laughter started to die down as everyone saw her. James, not noticing she was there, continued to torment Severus.

"James Potter you arrogant little prat! Put him down this instant!" James looked around startled and then saw Lily; she was positively fuming. He swallowed hard and put his wand away, making Severus fall into a crumpled heap on the ground. Lily muttered something under her breath and James immediately felt a searing pain shoot up his right arm.

"Lily! He didn't mean it!"  
"That's a bloody load of shit, Remus!" She glared at all of them for a second and then turned to Severus. "Are you alright, Severus?"

"Yes, thank you Lily." He got up and brushed himself off. Then, Lily turned on her heel and she, Lucius, and Severus walked back to the Great Hall.

_Dear Diary,_

_ So much for accepting James' apology! I was walking to lunch with Lucius (he's really nice, by the way) and I saw James tormenting Severus! Poor Severus! Poor James, I cursed his wand-arm, he'll be in pain for at least three days ... somehow I don't really feel all that bad. If he could just learn to be a little bit more mature, instead of pranking poor, unsuspecting people _

_ I was talking to Lucius today; he's very nice. I mean, yeah, he is a Slytherin, but that doesn't mean he's not nice to me. He is a little bit mean to some of the people in the younger years, and of course to James and the Marauders. But who can blame him? I really like him ... I'm meeting him in the Library after dinner to work on some homework._

_Lily  
_

"Lily? What are you doing?"

"Oh, hello Mae. You know Lucius and Severus, right?"

"Umm, yeah, why are you sitting over here?" Mae looked at Lily, confused; she was sitting at the Slytherin table.

"Well after what happened at lunch, I don't really feel like talking to James. And Lucius and I are going to work on some homework after dinner." The last part didn't really fit in to Lily's reasoning but Mae got the drift; Lily had a thing for Lucius Malfoy. She glared at Lucius when Lily wasn't looking.

"Ok, well I guess I'll see you after dinner then. Are you sure you won't sit with us?"

"Sorry, Mae, but Lucius asked me to. And besides, I'm already here and have started eating." Lily smiled warmly at Mae and then turned back to her conversation with Lucius.

"I don't think she likes me very much." Lucius looked down at his half-finished dinner.

"She just touchy ... everyone has been since the ... incident with James." Lily avoided Lucius' and Severus' gazes.

"Well I think you should be able to sit with whomever you choose to, Lily." Severus smiled; Lucius was about to glare at him, when he stopped himself. He knew that Severus didn't like Lily in that way; he simply liked her as a friend. "I wanted to thank you again, for that curse you put on James." The three of them started laughing, Lily's friends and the Marauders glanced at the Slytherin table, uneasily.

"That was pretty brilliant, Lily." Lily blushed.

"He deserved it." She glanced at the clock. "Why don't we head up to the Library, Lucius. I suspect it will take you a while to teach me that bloody potion." Lucius smiled, wondering exactly how long it would take.

"Ok, I'll see you later, Severus." Severus smiled and waved, his mouth being full of food, as Lucius and Lily exited the Great Hall. He noticed Mae, Toni, Gina, Bryant, Remus, Sirius, and James watch them nervously until they were out of view. He laughed to himself; they hated the fact that Lily was not only being nice to Slytherins but that she was actually going on a 'study date' with Lucius. Neither of them would ever come right out and call it that, but everyone else knew that's exactly what it was.

A/N: Okay, don't get mad at me Please!!! This will all make a whole bunch of sense in the end. Lucius doesn't hate muggle-borns yet, just bear with me it will work out eventually. Please read and review, sorry for the wait, I got sidetracked with my other story, Days. It will be a while before my next update, sadly, because I have a huge project due on Monday in English. I'll post as soon as I can! Please read and review, dying to hear what you all think. Come on, people, I know you can review!

**DarkRose: ** Not really happy now, are they?

**Shoe Malfoy:** Was it believable? Actually, your review inspired this chapter, mucho thanko! What did you think?

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters; I just use them for my own amusement!


	4. Flying Lessons

Chapter 4

Mae sat back down looking angry; the seven of them turned when they heard Lily's unmistakable laugh echo through the Great Hall. She, Lucius Malfoy, and Severus Snape were laughing. Mae glared at James and then turned to her food and began stabbing it repeatedly.

"What are you –" Before Bryant could finish his sentence, Mae shot him a look that could kill and he looked down at his plate. They sat in silence for a few minutes and then saw Lily and Lucius leave. Mae stared after them for a long time, before finally turning back to James.

"I need to talk to you," she growled, which was accompanied by a glare. She got up quickly and started for the door of the Great Hall. James exchanged scared glances with the rest of them, and started after her.

"We had better make sure she doesn't kill him," Remus said, sighing. They all nodded and got up. As they turned the corner, they saw James enter the Room of Requirement. They had to stop for a little while and get past the charms, but when they finally did get inside they were greeted by the sounds of Mae yelling.

"Potter you are the most idiotic prat on this earth! I can't believe you!" James sat on an armchair, looking at the ground.

"Hey, slow down Mae." Bryant caught her around the waist just before she rushed at James.

"Care to tell us all what's going on?" Remus asked, rather calmly. Everyone sat down, with the exception of Bryant and Mae.

"Ok, Bryant. I promise I won't try and kill him." Bryant nodded and released her. "James you are ... ah! I don't even know what you are!" Mae sighed and sat down on the ground. "Lily was going to talk to you after lunch today ... about you kissing her. The plan was that she was going to forgive you on the agreement that you would act like more of a gentleman." Mae sighed again and buried her head in her hands. "And now look! She's off flirting with that Malfoy prat!"

"Don't remind me. What am I supposed to do now?" James looked at his friends, but everyone just stared at the floor, except for Remus who seemed to be contemplating something.

"What ever happened to Diggory?"

"Oh ... Amos. I think Lily's over that ... she doesn't seem to like him much anymore." Toni shrugged; Amos had been around, but he and Lily didn't seem to have any chemistry anymore. The group had pretty much ignored him when he came with them anywhere; he didn't say much so that wasn't too hard.

"Don't you worry about him. She'll have broken up with him by the end of the week if Malfoy's around." Remus said, almost to himself. "But it could still work, James."

"Yeah, in my dreams maybe." Everyone stared at Remus and James, wondering what they could possibly be talking about.

"No, no. It will take some work ... if she's doesn't completely and totally despise every fiber of your being, it will work."

"Don't count on it, Remus." James shook his head, pathetically.

"But hey, we've got the girls here now. They'll help!" Remus smiled.

"You're right ... this could still work!" James smiled half-heartedly and he and Remus started explaining things to everyone else.

**Library**

"So, Lily, what should we do now?" Lucius leaned back in his chair and looked at Lily. She was still in her school robes, but she somehow managed to look fabulous even in the shapeless garments. Her auburn hair was catching the last rays of sunlight and hung loosely about her shoulders.

"I don't know ... you've mastered the Transfiguration homework and I've finally gotten that potion down." Lily shrugged and looked back at Lucius, smiling.

"Lily, have you ever been flying?" Lily got a little pale and her eyes got very wide.

"You mean on a broomstick? No, no. Thank god it's not a mandatory class." Lucius stifled a laugh.

"Do you mean to tell me that the perfect student Lily Evans is afraid of flying?" He smiled mischievously, but kept a hint of kindness in his voice.

"Well ... yeah I guess that's exactly it." Lily blushed and avoided his gaze.

"That's decided then, I'm taking you flying." Lucius got up and started putting his books away.

"NO! No, Lucius, please." Lily bit her lip and looked up at Lucius with a scared expression.

"Come on, Lily. Don't you trust me? I promise we don't have to fly any higher than a foot off the ground. I won't let you fall." Lily was still hesitant, but the smile Lucius gave her was hard to turn down.

"Not more than a foot off the ground." Lucius grinned and grabbed Lily's hand.

"I promise."

**Quidditch Pitch**

"That thing doesn't look sturdy." Lily looked at Lucius' broom with a frightened expression.

"Come on, I'll hold on to you. I promise you won't fall." Lucius held out his hand and Lily took it, cautiously. After a little more prodding, Lucius finally got Lily onto the broom and they started flying. They were about ten feet off the ground, but Lily wasn't complaining. Despite everything her mind was telling her, she felt safe in Lucius' arms. "See isn't this wonderful?" Lucius leaned his head on Lily's shoulder.

"Yeah ... it is pretty nice," Lily answered dreamily. Lucius guided the broom to the middle of the field and gently touched down. He and Lily dismounted and he put the broom on the ground. Lily turned to Lucius, shyly. "Thanks ... for this."

"It was my pleasure," said Lucius, always the gentlemen. That was what Lily liked about him so much; she never had any doubt her in mind that he would respect her boundaries ... unlike James. She smiled at him, blushing. "I heard about what James did ...I have to say that that was just ... rude."

"Yeah, I really don't know what to do about him ... it really caught me off guard, him kissing me like that." Lily giggled a little bit. "I slapped him ... twice." Lucius smiled and Lily giggled again.

"Would you slap me if I kissed you right now?"

"I don't know ... are you willing to take that risk?" Lily asked, seductively. Lucius quickly closed the gap between them, wrapping his arms around Lily's waist. She put her hands on his shoulders.

"I think you're worth any risk." Okay, it was cheesy, but Lily didn't seem to mind as she smiled and blushed. Lucius leaned down and kissed her. He was surprised to feel Lily allow his tongue into her mouth, happily surprised, but surprised nonetheless. Lily didn't exactly seem like the girl to let a guy snog her before they had even had a real date. When they finally pulled away, he asked, "So? What's the verdict?" Lily grinned and put her hand behind his head, pulling him back down to meet her lips again.

"What in the bloody hell?!" Lily and Lucius broke away hurriedly and looked around the pitch. Standing at the entrance, holding his broom was Amos Diggory .. Lily's boyfriend. "What are you doing here? With him?" Lily just stared at him. Lucius looked at Amos and then back at Lily; he smiled despite the situation. Lily was standing there, looking amazing, _with_ him and her boyfriend and long time crush had caught them. "Well, Lily?"

"I ... Amos ... I didn't mean –" Whatever Lily could have said wouldn't have made a difference; actions speak louder than words and she was still standing there, entangled with Lucius.

"No, that's it Lily. We're over!" With a final glare, Amos stormed off the field.

"I'm sorry Lils, this is my fault." Lily was slightly shocked at Lucius calling her "Lils", no one had ever called her that before ... and she liked it.

"No, it's not Lucius. It's mine ... I knew where this was going and I knew I was still with him ... but I didn't care." Lily shook her head and finally broke out of Lucius' arms.

"What does that mean?"

"I think it means ... I'm not going to slap you for kissing me." Lucius smiled as he caught her meaning. Lily smiled at him and took the hand he was holding out. He pulled her to him again, kissing her gently. A few minutes later, they decided to head back to the school. "So what are we ... exactly?"

Lucius wrapped his arm around Lily's waist and kissed the top of her head as they walked. Lily, in turn, wrapped her arms around Lucius' middle and put her head on his shoulder. "Why don't we make this more definitive? Lily Evans, will you be my girlfriend?"

"I'd love to be." Lily smiled and sighed contentedly. For the first time since they stopped flying, the thought of James entered her mind. She fought it back down as they walked, silently, back to the school. When they reached the entrance lobby, they confined the PDA's to simply holding hands. Lucius walked Lily to the Gryffindor Portrait Hole.

"Sit with me at breakfast?"

"Sure." Lily smiled and stood up on her tiptoes to kiss Lucius. Then, turning around, she said the password and disappeared through the portrait hole. Lucius could hardly hold in his excitement as he walked back to his own Dormitory.

"Hiya Lily." Mae smiled at Lily from the couch, apparently over the dinner incident. "Where've you been?"

"Studying with Lucius," Lily said wistfully.

"Hi, Lily Flower." Lily rolled her eyes and turned around to see James standing behind her.

"Yes, James?"

"What? Can't I say hello to my friend?" Lily rolled her eyes again as James shrugged his shoulders, smiling.

"Whatever James." Lily dismissed it and sat down between Gina and Mae on the couch. Remus and Bryant were sitting across form them on the pair of armchairs. "Hello, Remus, Bryant, Gina."

"The 'studying' went well I'm assuming?" Remus asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, studying." Lily giggled and looked out the window. "Well, I should get to bed, I've got a Defense Against the Dark Arts Test tomorrow and I want to make sure I'm up for it." Lily smiled and started for the Dormitory stairs. Mae followed her upstairs and came back down a few minutes later.

"Trouble, mates." Gina, Remus, Bryant, and James scooted closer to hear what she had to say as she sat down on the couch. "Amos found her and Lucius on the Quidditch Field " Mae's voice trailed off and she looked, hesitantly at James.

"What? Why were they on the Quidditch Field?"

"I'm really sorry, James ... Amos found them kissing and he broke up with Lily." James smiled, but Mae continued. "So then Lucius asked her out and she said yes." James smile faded and he buried his head in his hands.

"Oh bloody hell ... I wasn't counting on that." For the first time this evening, Remus' confidence in his plan wavered. "Wait, why were they at the pitch?" Mae avoided Remus' eyes. "Mae?"

"Lucius took her flying."

"What?!" Everyone stared at Mae in amazement, only half-believing what she said. "Woah, Mae, that can't be right."

"It is Remus ... I didn't think so either, but she swore that it was." Mae sighed and looked worriedly at James, who was clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Lily is deathly afraid of flying ... how in the bloody hell did he get her on a broom?!" Remus ran a hand through his hair; this really messed things up.

"I have no idea ... I guess she trusts him." Gina shrugged. "Where are Toni and Sirius anyways?"

"Snogging in the Library." Remus said, shuddering.

"Now that is emotionally scarring. Well, mates, there's nothing we can do about Lily and Lucius tonight." Bryant yawned and stood up, stretching. Mae poked him in the ribs. "Hey!"

"Yeah?" Bryant faked a glare and leaned down to face Mae, as if he were going to kiss her. But, suddenly, he started tickling her. She squealing and tried to push him away. After a few moments, Bryant stopped and sat down next to Mae, who was still giggling.

"Speaking of emotionally scarring ... don't worry James. I think we can still get this to work." Remus stood up and smiled, tiredly. "See you in the morning, all."

"G'night Remus." Mae and Gina smiled. Mae put a comforting hand on James' knee. "You'll figure something out, you always do."

"I really hope you're right, Mae."

"Of course I'm right, I'm always right!" Mae swatted Bryant as he unsuccessfully tried to stifle a laugh. "I'll see you all in the morning." She leaned over and gave Bryant a quick kiss before heading upstairs.

"Good night!" Gina smiled through a yawn and followed Mae.

"Come on, James. We might as well go to bed ... there's nothing left to do down here anyways." James shrugged and followed his friend up the stairs to their Dormitory.

**Diary**

_Dear Diary,_

_ I went flying today! It was exhilarating! Making it all the more wonderful was the fact that Lucius was holding me tightly around the waist. Bloody hell, he smells good! Oh! And then he kissed me! It was a bloody brilliant kiss ... not as good as James ... oh my god! I didn't just write that! Yuck! Anyways, Amos caught us and broke up with me. I say good riddance; I never knew how annoying he was until he asked me out. He always followed me around like he was my puppy dog or something._

_ Then, when we were walking back to the school, Lucius asked me out! I said yes of course, this is perfect! Now we're officially a couple ... I can't wait to see everyone's reaction at breakfast tomorrow. Well, I won't get to see my friends' reactions because I'll be sitting at the Slytherin table! The only problem is, every time I see James or I think about him ... I feel guilty for some reason. Oh well, probably just hormones._

_Lucius is very ... good looking, well I'll leave it at that. That kiss was fantastic! Tests tomorrow, gotta get some sleep._

_Lily_

A/N: Hope you all liked this chapter. I wrote it while I was procrastinating, hehe. Don't murder me for the whole Lily/Lucius thing ... it will all make sense in later chapters. (It won't be completely explained here, but it will be in Days.) If you are super desperate to know what the bloody hell is going on, then email me and I'll explain it to you ... but I don't really like giving things away. I decided to add some of Lily's Diary entries to give you a better perspective on how she's feeling, since she doesn't really tell anyone. See that button ... the one that says 'submit review'? Press it!

**DarkRose:** Mucho thanko, were the symbols better here?

Okay, in regards to Time to Burn: I will try and update that before the end of next week, but I dunno. I'm kind of at a dead end on where I want to take it next. If you have anything you'd really like to see in that story, let me know, it may inspire chapter 10! Please don't ask me to update, I'm trying to RP a chapter 10 as soon as the voices will let me! And my English teacher is trying to murder us with homework, so definately don't count on an update before the end of the weekend.

Disclaimer: Me ... not so much of the owning of Harry Potter.


	5. Her New Beau

Chapter 5

"Good morning, love." Lucius smiled warmly at Lily as she sat down next to him at the Slytherin table. She smiled back and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Morning. Hello Severus." Severus looked up from the book he was reading and smiled. Lily yawned and started to put some food on her plate.

"Good morning, Lily Flower. Did you sleep well?" Lily rolled her eyes and turned around to see James standing behind her.

"Hello James, yes I slept find thank you." James cringed at her icy tone of voice. He was about to make another attempt at pleasant conversation when Lucius sent him a look that could kill.

"I'll see you at the game then?"

"No, sorry James. I've already got plans with Lucius."

"What? You can't just skip the game! We're all counting on you to be there!" James looked at her, shocked. She had attended every Quidditch game since James, Sirius, Bryant, and Toni made the team in third year.

"Look, Potter, she said she had plans so sod off!" Lucius stood up to face James, glaring at him.

"I wasn't asking you! I was talking to Lily Flower, bugger out of our conversation, Malfoy!" Lucius whipped out his wand and was holding it to James' neck before James knew what was happening. James, however, blessed with a seeker's reflexes pulled out his own wand within seconds and held it to Lucius' chest.

"Stop it! Bloody hell!" Their attention shifted to Lily; she was standing now and giving them both looks that could kill.

"Lily he was—"

"NO! Lucius, stop it! Both of you need to stop right now! Put your bloody wands away." James and Lucius reluctantly returned their wands to their pockets. "Now James go to the Gryffindor Table! Go now!" James looked at her, sadly, for a moment before turning and walking to the Gryffindor Table. "Lucius sit back down."

James returned to the Gryffindor Table looking like he was about to kill someone. "That didn't go very well." Everyone ignored Gina's statement.

"She's not coming to the game?!" Mae was yelling loud enough for the entire Great Hall to hear her.

"Apparently not." James looked down at his food gloomily.

**The Astronomy Tower**

Lily pulled out of her kiss with Lucius and turned away. He stared at her back, confused for a moment, and said, "What's wrong?"

"I'm feeling guilty about the game, I guess."

"Lillian Matilda Evans, look at me." Lily turned to face Lucius, who was giving her a very compassionate expression. "Just because you don't attend one Quidditch game does not make you a bad friend." He chuckled. "It just makes you a good girlfriend." Lily smiled in spite of herself and smacked Lucius on the arm. "Ow."

"That didn't hurt."

"Yes it did ... kiss me and make it better?" Lily laughed but leaned over and kissed Lucius anyways.

**Gryffindor Locker Rooms**

"Toni if you slam that door any harder it's going to come off its hinges." Bryant attempted a smirk, but instead gave what looked like a grimace.

"Don't joke with me, Bryant!"

"Oh, Antonia, don't be mad at Bryant. He's just trying to help." Despite the mock soothing tone Sirius had attempted, his words came out in a cold snap.

"Don't call me Antonia!" Toni glared at Sirius, slammed the locker door again and stormed out of the locker room.

"This has got to stop ... we'll all have killed each other before Christmas." James sighed sadly and closed his own locker. He plopped down on the bench and buried his head in his hands.

"Well if Lily wasn't being so –"

"No, Bryant! Lily is doing what any normal person would do in her situation." James couldn't believe what he was saying. "Let's just forget this for a little while okay? Can we stop feuding for an hour? Think about what Lily would say if she heard us."

"James you're off your fucking rocker!" Sirius glared at James. "Lily's my friend and all that shit, but what she did to you is just plain horrible."

"Sirius! She didn't do anything to me! God dammit! You sure as bloody hell aren't making this any easier for me! She doesn't love me Sirius ... bloody hell she doesn't even like me! I can't be mad at her for something that she has no control over and neither should you." Sirius and Bryant stared at James, wide-eyed and open-mouthed for a long time.

"James ... are you saying that you're giving up on Lily?"

"No, I'm just ... I don't know! Dammit! I love her; I can't stop thinking about her. But she doesn't love me back ... its just so hopeless! She's never going to feel that way about me." James dropped his head back into his hands and sighed loudly. Bryant and Sirius sat down on either side of him and Sirius squeezed his shoulder reassuringly.

"James, you will get Lily, you know that don't you?" The three friends looked up to see Remus standing in the doorway of the locker room.

"How can you be so sure about that, Moony?"

"Because I've seen the way you look at her, and I've also seen the way she looks at you when she thinks no one's watching. You and Lily are as close to soul mates as mere mortals get." Remus smiled and sat down across from his friends. "But right now, I think we're all due for a little Marauder mischief!" James chuckled and rubbed his neck, trying to get the thoughts of Lily out of his head.

"Bloody brilliant idea, Moony!" Sirius jumped up and grinned. "Got the map?" Remus held up a seemingly blank piece of parchment.

"I was thinking we could rig the Slythering portrait to do a little disappearing act ... among other things." Bryant grinned evilly and Sirius clapped him on the back.

"Bloody hell, I don't know how we dealt with Petigrew instead of you." Bryant and the rest of the Marauders smiled. Bryant had been shy, collected and an introvert first year. It wasn't until the last week of school when he hexed Snape that the Marauders started talking to him. Considering that Bryant fit in better with the Marauders and Peter with the Hufflepuffs, Bryant had been inducted as the newest Marauder.

"Let's go Prongs, it will get your mind off of Lily for once." Remus held out his hand and pulled James to his feet. James smiled at his friends as they started out of the locker room.

**The Office of Professor McGonagall**

"You can't seriously believe that we had anything to do with that, Professor?"

"Oh please, Mr. Black. The only ones smart enough and bold enough to pull a prank like that are the four of you." A young Professor McGonagall pointed a finger at them accusingly.

"We're flattered Professor, we really are." Bryant batted his eyelashes at her. "but we know you don't have anything linking us to it and ergo we stick to the story that we didn't do it."

"Hmm." Professor McGonagall studied them for a moment. "That would be true. However, if I didn't find it so ... hilariously funny, I would just use a truth Potion and get confessions. It was rather brilliant; I should give you 10 points for that Transfiguration, Mr. Lupin." The Marauders smiled; McGonagall was their favorite teacher without question. Although she didn't let on to it in public, she found their pranks as hilarious as they did. She did her best to get them out of as many detentions as was possible, while still keeping her reputation for being a strict, evil bitch.

"Thanks Professor M!" James smiled enthusiastically.

"Yeah, yea. Get yourselves up to bed no."

**Lily's Diary**

_Dear Diary,_

_I'm still fighting with the girls ... Toni's mad at me for not coming to the game, Gina's mad at me because I didn't sit with them for three consecutive meals, and Mae's mad at me because I'm going out with Lucius. Lucius, on the other hand, has been fabulous. He's agreed to let me have a little time for the friends, to make things right and stuff. I wouldn't expect any less from him but the clincher is ... he suggested it! He really wants me to make up with my friends; he said he sees how unhappy it makes me and would rather have to share me a little bit than see me unhappy. Isn't that just the sweetest thing you've ever heard?!_

_That's what's making me feel all the guiltier about that damn kiss ... I keep thinking about it. Lucius is a fabulous kisser, don't get me wrong, but James' kiss made me feel ... like I was on fire! Lucius ... well he's got a flame going for sure, but its not the heat of hell either. Which is exactly where I'm going! Straight to hell! I can't believe I'm thinking these things behind Lucius' back ... he's been so great already. Damn Potter, now he's invaded my thoughts. And damn Amos! If I hadn't been going out with him, Potter probably would have never kissed me! Oh well, I've done too much damning already; I've got to get some sleep. Until tomorrow,_

_Lily_

A/N: Okay, this chapter has been through so many revisions it's not even funny. shakes head in disgust Anyways, how did you all like it? Please review!! If any of you have any ideas for what Bryant's nickname should be, please email them to me or leave them in a review. For reference, his animagus form is a black cat ... still can't figure out what to call him; help would be greatly appreciated!

**Shoemalfoy: **Much thanks for all of that! How was this? I didn't really explain it because I'm a lazy ass, but there will be a lot more pranks in coming chapters, I promise! James will be using the Cloak, soon. How was the explanation for Bryant? How did you like this one?

**Thaisa: **For all intensive purposes, no. Any guy at Hogwarts, except maybe Snape, would love to have Lily. So the Slytherins don't taunt her, even though she is a muggle-born, she's way to beautiful (Hehe). And the whole thing with her and Lucius will be explained later.

**Dans-girl: **thanks! How did you like this one?

**Sadiler: **Yay! Thank you! Yes, they are fifth years.

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter would I be sitting here writing fanfiction ... no! I'd be drinking Perrier in my fabulous mansion ... silly people!


	6. Lost in the Forbidden Forest

Chapter 6

"I can't believe you James! I thought only Sirius would do something this ... this stupid! But I guess I was wrong!" Lily flopped down in an empty desk and sighed heavily, burying her face in her hands.

"Come on, Lils, it won't be so bad." Lucius sat down next to her and squeezed her shoulder comfortingly. James and the rest of the Marauders had been caught mid-prank by Filch. Unfortunately, Lily, Lucius, Mae, Toni, and Gina also happened to be in the same corridor. All nine of them had been given detention in the Forbidden Forest with Professor Sprout (A/N: this would be Professor Sprout's mother, also Professor Sprout, sry if that's confusing).

"I really am sorry, Lily flower." James walked towards Lily but stopped upon receiving a look that could kill from Lucius.

"Look let's just stop fighting for one night okay? Is it really that hard for everyone to put aside all this shit so that we don't kill each other tonight?" Remus rubbed his eyes and sighed exasperatedly.

"I'll put everything aside when Potter here leaves Lily the bloody hell alone! She obviously doesn't like you!" Lucius was standing by this point, glaring menacingly at James. Lily stood up and pushed him back down into his seat.

"Just stop it all of you! First of all, you," she pointed a finger at Lucius, "don't presume to know what I feel and what I don't feel. Secondly, James can we please just have a peaceful night? I have a boyfriend now, it normal people terms that means I'm taken and you can't go around trying to 'charm' me every single day! Thirdly, you three" Lily pointed at Mae, Gina, and Toni, "and I need to talk." Lily sat down with a huff and everyone stared at her, wondering what he or she should do. James glared daggers at the floor; Lucius stared at the desk with a sheepish look on his face, Sirius looked completely confused and everyone else just kind of stood there.

Five minutes later, Professor Sprout came in and led them out to the Forbidden Forest. "We'll need two groups so Lily, Mae, Toni, and Gina in one and the rest of you in the other. Here are your lists we'll meet back here in 2 hours."

When the guys were out of hearing, Lily started in on the speech she had prepared for her former best friends. "Okay, so here goes. I really, really miss you guys. You have no idea. And I hate the fact that my relationship with Lucius is what's causing this. I'm sorry that I didn't come to the Quidditch match, but I had made plans before I realized there was a match that day. I'll do everything in my power to make it up to you. And I'll do everything in my power to make how horrible I've been acting up to you as well. Just please, please, let's not fight anymore." Mae, Gina, and Toni immediately stepped forward and engulfed Lily in a four-person hug.

"That was exactly what we wanted to hear, Lily." Mae smiled against Lily's hair and hugged her tighter.

"Come on, we'd better start on this list." Toni pulled out of the hug, followed by the other three. All four of them wiped their not-so-dry eyes and started into the forest.

"So how've things been with you and Mal— Lucius." Lily smiled at Mae's attempt at being nice.

"Fabulous, really brilliant. Lucius is really sweet and kind once you get to know him."

"Well I don't know how likely that is," Toni said with a smirk.

"Unless you all are opposed to the idea, he said he'd try his best to be friends with you. On some level anyways. I'd like to be able to sit with my friends as well as my boyfriend at meals." Lily bit her lip nervously, trying to anticipate her friends' reactions.

"I suppose if a Slytherin can get over the shame of sitting at the Gryffindor table, then we can be civil to him if not friendly," Gina said as she looked at a large bush, trying to figure out if it was one of the plants they were looking for. Professor Sprout needed to stock up on some plants from the Forest for her own collection as well as that of the nurse and Professor Gulch, the potions master.

"My dear, almost any boy in the entire school would take his meals in the dungeons if it meant being Lily's boyfriend." Mae laughed as Lily smacked her.

"Yeah with the exception of Sirius, Remus, and Bryant of course."

"Well we all know who Sirius has his eye set on, Antonia." Toni attempted a glare at Lily but ended up blushing furiously.

"He doesn't like me!"

"No, you're right he doesn't. He's in love with you!" Toni blushed three shades darker at Mae's statement.

Gina sighed wistfully and said, "At least you've got someone that fancies you, everyone just sees me as the girl next door." Toni, Lily, and Mae exchanged knowing glances and burst out laughing. "What?!"

"Gina, Gina, Gina. Have you not noticed the fact that Remus is absolutely head over heels for you?"

"But Mae, how can she notice that when she's head over heels for Remus herself."

"Lily!!" Gina stared at Lily for a moment before she started to blush like a crazy lobster. Lily shrugged and plucked a few flowers from the ground, recognizing them as ones from the list. Lily deposited them in the bag that Toni was carrying. "Well I don't really know how you can talk! I mean Mae's obviously crazy in love with Bryant, but she refuses to admit that to anyone!"

"Gina!" Mae stared at the ground sheepishly. "Well okay ... so I do like Bryant. But I hate the feeling of letting someone else control my feelings. He drives me insane ... ahh!" Lily smiled and shook her head.

"You drive him just as insane as he drives you. So you should both just get over it and snog each other senseless." The four girls burst out laughing at Lily's frankness.

**The Other Side of the Forbidden Forest**

"Watch where you're going Malfoy! You just stood on my foot!"

"Well then don't put your feet in my way, Potter!"

"Okay, both of you knock it off right now! Shut the hell up and let's just find these sodding plants! Can neither of you honor Lily's request that no one fight?" Remus glared between James and Lucius for a moment before bending down and picking up a few leaves from a nearby shrubbery. Bryant and Remus exchanged knowing looks and walked off in the opposite direction, dragging Sirius with them, leaving James and Lucius alone to have it out for the last time.

"I know it's a huge blow to your overly inflated ego that Lily would rather be with me, but you need to get over it, Potter."

"Look, Malfoy ... er, Lucius, us fighting is just pissing Lily off all the more. So let's make a truce." Lucius cocked and eyebrow at James, trying to figure out if he was serious or not.

"Okay, you promise me that you'll leave Lily alone –no more trying to charm her, no asking her out, no flirting with her – and I'll be civil to you Potter ... er, James." James smirked at the irony of the entire situation.

"Fine, but you have to promise me something too."

"What?"

James' smirk disappeared and he got extremely serious all of a sudden. "Promise me that you won't hurt her."

"As hard as it is for you to believe this, I love Lily just as much as you do. I would never dream of hurting her."

"Promise me!"

"Okay, Pott—James, I promise you that I will never hurt Lily." Lucius held out his hand and James shook it. Remus stuck his head out from behind a tree.

"We've got to head further into the Forest, there's some plants on here that we won't find out here on the outskirts. So let's go." James and Lucius eyed each other before following Remus deeper into the forest.

**Two Hours Later**

"Lily do you know what this plant looks like? I've never heard of it before." Mae turned around to look at Lily, but she wasn't there. "Lily? Toni where's Lily?" Toni walked around a clump of bushes and up to Mae, followed by Gina.

"I thought she was with you. Lily?!"

"Why are you calling Lily's name?" Remus walked around a bend in the trail, followed by Sirius, Bryant, James, and Lucius.

"Oh my god, where's Lily?!" Gina looked around frantically.

"Lily's missing?!" All eyes turned to Lucius' furious face; Mae nodded, wide-eyed. "Everybody spread out, it's not safe to be in this forest alone. We've got to find her before something happens to her. Mae and Bryant you go that way," Lucius pointed to his right, "Toni and Sirius go that way," Lucius pointed to his left, "Gina and Remus, you go that way," he pointed behind him, "and James and I will ... wait where's James?" Everyone looked around and noticed, for the first time, that James was no longer with them.

"Bloody hell, now we've got two people missing!" Remus' brow was knotted in frustration.

"Just look for both of them then, I'll go this way." Lucius started off in the direction he had been facing, but Mae caught his arm.

"You can't go off alone!" As if right on cue, there was a blood-curdling scream that sounded eerily like Lily.

"I've been in this forest plenty, I'll be fine. Just find Lily!" He shrugged Mae's arm off and jogged off. Everyone else followed his example and headed in the directions he had told them.

**Deep in the Forbidden Forest**

"Oh my god!" Lily backed up until her back was pressed against a large tree. Standing in front of her was Faolyca, a cross between a lion and a wolf. It was the size of a lion with a wolf's temper and could rip a man to shreds in a matter of seconds. Only a handful of people had ever seen a Faolyca and lived to tell the tale.

Lily was shaking involuntarily as the animal stalked closer to her. It licked its chops hungrily and growled far back in its throat. Lily said a little prayer as it crouched down and prepared to lunge at her. She closed her eyes tightly and waited for the impact, but it never came. She opened her eyes tentatively to see a large, tawny-colored stag rear up and kick the Faolyca in the side. It whimpered and bared its teeth at the stag for a moment before running off in the opposite direction.

The stag sniffed triumphantly and turned to Lily, who pushed herself closer against the tree. It stuck out its right foreleg and dipped its head in a low bow. Lily relaxed slightly as the stag raised its head and knelt down in front of her. It jerked its head back, motioning for her to get on. Still scared out of her wits, Lily climbed up onto the stag. A few seconds later, it stood up and sprinted back towards the school. Lily clutched its neck tightly and clamped her eyes closed. After what seemed like an eternity, the stag slowed and knelt down again. Lily opened her eyes and slid off its back; she found herself at the front steps of the school. The stag sniffed sadly as Lily sank to the ground, unconscious.

**...**

"Lily? Can you open your eyes?" Lily stirred and her eyes fluttered open; she looked up to see a familiar face, framed by some white-blonde hair. She felt immediately comforted as she realized whom it was that was kneeling over her.

"Lucius?"

"Shh, it's okay Lily. I'm going to take you up to the Hospital Wing okay?" Lily nodded weakly as Lucius picked her up, bride style, and carried her up the stairs and into the school.

A/N: Yay! Chapter 6! I'm really sorry for the long wait! I was having creative issues with this chapter and then I went out of town, so I couldn't post it when I finally did finish it. I know the Lucius/James truce is a little OOC, but Lily was close to murdering them if they didn't stop fighting soon. Please trust me and don't give up on this story! It will all work out with the plot ... eventually. I hope you all liked this chapter, sorry I was too much of a lazy-ass to go into detail about the prank. Rest assured, there will be more pranks in the future! Please, please, please review! I have hardly any for this story. Please?!

**The all mighty and powerfulM:** Thank you so much! Sorry for the wait, but how was this?

**Pixy-Misa-Misao-Amano:** The chapters kind of write themselves so I don't have much control on the length, however I will make an attempt! Sorry for the wait, how'd you like it anyways?

**Dans-girl-4ever:** LOL, thanks so much! How did you like the next one?

**Sandofia:** Of course I will always update, and please don't get in trouble! It scares me when people don't review for like ages ... I start to think they have dropped off the face of the earth and that makes me sad. Especially for awesome reviewers like you! For the record, I didn't update because I was having creative issues with this chapter, sorry! And then of course the whole out of town thing ... yadda yadda yadda! Anywho, you're very welcome! Your reviews always make my day! Haha, thanks. How was this one?


	7. What Really Happened

Chapter 7

"Miss Evans can you sit up dear?" Lily groggily opened her eyes to see eight floating heads around her. She groaned and closed them, having been hit by a sudden wave of lightheadedness.

"Lils, it's okay. Come on, open your eyes, Lils." Lily felt a hand touch her cheek affectionately, recognizing the voice as Lucius', she figured the hand must belong to him as well.

Lily screwed up her face and forced her eyes open. She waited for them to focus and then recognized the eight heads, no longer seemingly floating. The school nurse, Madame Chevalure, was to her left and Lucius was opposite to her, on Lily's right. Then, crowded around the bed were Mae, Gina, Toni, Remus, Sirius, and Bryant, all wearing worried expressions. Lily thought she saw a flash of black hair leaving the Hospital Wing, but she couldn't be sure.

"Miss Evans, I'm going to need you to sit up." With a little help from Lucius, Lily propped herself up against the headboard of her bed. She attempted a smile at her friends, but it came out as more of a grimace. "Dink this, it will make you feel better." Lily took the cup that Madame Chevalure was holding and downed the disgusting potion. Seemingly satisfied, the nurse scuttled away.

"What happened? And why do I feel like shit?"

"You don't remember?" Mae asked in a worried tone.

"Umm ... not really. I remember being in the forest ... and a stag." Remus, Sirius, and Bryant exchanged nervous looks, but they went unnoticed. "Then I remember Lucius ... he was picking me up ... said it was going to be okay ... and he was taking me to the Hospital Wing." Lily rubbed her temples trying to calm down the migraine she felt was soon going to surface.

"We don't really know what happened either, Lily. You got lost in the forest somehow and we started to look for you. We heard you scream and then we found you on the front steps of the school an hour later." Mae looked extremely shaken; her eyes were red and puffy and her hair was in disarray. Bryant had a comforting arm around her waist. Neither Gina nor Toni were in much better shape. Toni had a small, partly dried, stream of blood escaping a large cut on her left cheek. Her wavy dirty blonde hair, which had been previously held up by a clip, was now falling about her face and shoulders, matted and messy. Sirius was shooting her worried glances, but was not making any move to comfort her. Gina was clutching Remus' hand tightly and he had his other arm wrapped around her waist. The twinkle that had previously been in her eyes was replaced by a scared, anxious look.

_I can't imagine I look much better_, Lily thought. She reached up to touch her own hair and sighed as she felt the dirty mass that was her hair.

"You feel like shit, as you so eloquently put it, because you fainted. And however you got to the steps, you managed to bruise a rib or two. A migraine's to be expected after fainting, according to Madame Chevalure," Remus explained. He looked the most composed of everyone, but Lily could still see the lines of worry that had creased across his brow.

Lily sighed and said, "I think I'd like to sleep." Everyone nodded sympathetically.

"You guys should get some sleep yourselves. I'll stay here."

"But, Lucius, when are you going to sleep?" Mae touched Lucius lightly on the arm, their previous discord apparently forgotten.

"I'll be okay. Go ahead back to your dormitories." Lucius smiled and motioned towards the door. Reluctantly, Remus, Gina, Toni, Sirius, Mae, and Bryant all filed out of the Hospital Wing. Lucius looked back at Lily with a worried expression and, cupping her face in his hand, rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "You gave us a right good scare, Lils." Lily smiled weakly at her boyfriend. "Try and get some sleep okay?" She sighed and nodded, lying back down on the bed. Lucius pulled a chair next to her and sat down, taking Lily's hand in his.

**...**

A huge monster ... growling. Crouches down, going to attack. Fear. A large stag, with brown eyes. So much like his eyes. He tries save me ... the stag. But it's not working. He's drifting away ... but the monster stays ...

"Lily, wake up. Lily, its okay!" Lily woke up with a start and opened her eyes to see the very worried face of Lucius Malfoy. "It's okay, it was just a dream." She let out a sob as Lucius enveloped her in a warm hug. She laid her head on his chest and sobbed into him, wetting his robes with her delicate tears.

"I was in the forest ... it was going to ..." Lily trailed off as more sobs wracked her thin frame.

"It's okay, Lils. I'm here. I'm not going to let anything hurt you." Lucius kissed her head and rubbed her back comfortingly. Lily fell back to sleep a few minutes later, only to be woken an hour later to eat breakfast. Shortly after she and Lucius had eaten, he stood up and put on his cloak. "Unfortunately, I do have classes today. But, since Mae has a free first period, she should be here in a few minutes. You'll be okay, right?"

"Yes, Lucius. I'll be fine. As soon as that old bat lets me out of here, that is." Lucius chuckled and kissed her forehead before striding quickly out of the Hospital Wing.

**Gryffindor Common Room**

"Lily! You're back!" Sirius jumped up and ran to Lily, throwing his arms around her in a huge bear hug.

"OW! Sirius!" Sirius jumped back as if something had bitten him.

"Oh my god! Lily! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you! Are you okay?!" Lily chuckled and patted Sirius on the shoulder.

"It's fine, Sirius. But you seem to forget that my ribs are still bruised. Take it a little gentler next time, okay?" Sirius nodded at Lily with a scared expression as the rest of her friends came up to her.

"Feeling better, Lily Flower?" Lily was a bit startled to see James; she hadn't seen him since she yelled at him. But she smiled warmly nonetheless.

"Yeah, I am, thanks." He returned the smile sheepishly. Luckily, Madame Chevalure had let Lily out of the Hospital Wing the day following the incident in the forest. Mae, Gina, Toni, and Remus came up and hugged her gently, expressing their happiness that she was not only okay, but back with them as well. "I don't know about you lot but I'm starving!"

Remus chuckled and said, "Well you know them," he gestured towards the rest of the Marauders "they've got a whole stash of food in our dormitory. Come up and have a look." Lily smiled and followed Remus up the boys' dormitory stairs. It was late already, so dinner was over and she didn't particularly like the idea of trudging down to the kitchens for some food.

James sighed as he watched Lily disappear up the stairs. Mae, Gina, and Toni exchanged knowing looks, said their good nights to the boys, turned and left for their own dormitory. James, Sirius, and Bryant flopped down on the couch; the Common Room was deserted, save for the three Marauders.

"So Lily said something about a stag." Sirius nudged James in the rib with his elbow playfully.

"Don't Sirius."

"Look, James, we all know you're going to end up telling us what happened. So why don't you tell us now and save us all the energy." Bryant smirked at Sirius as James rolled his eyes.

"There's nothing to tell. She thinks Lucius saved her and ..." James sighed, but forced himself to go on, "and that's what she would want. I just complicate things."

"I don't care what the sodding hell she _thinks_, Prongs. What really happened?" Sirius cocked an eyebrow and James raked his hands through his hair, making it stick up more than it already was.

"I turned into a stag and found her. Then she got on my back and I carried her out of the forest. Set her down at the front steps of the school and that's all there is to it. She remembers Lucius helping her and I'm perfectly fine with letting her believe that he did." James sighed sadly; in all honesty, he really wanted to tell Lily what had truly happened. But that would complicate things even more than they already were. He wanted Lily's happiness more than his own, and if that meant her being with Lucius Malfoy, then so be it.

"You're not going to tell her?" Bryant asked, well it was more of a statement than a question. He knew very well what was going on in James' head; after being close friends with someone for four years, you get to know how their mind works.

"Lucius and I made a truce ... I'm not aloud to try to impress her, or in other words, I need to leave her alone, and he promised not to do anything to hurt her. So I think telling her classifies as breaking that truce." Sirius snorted unbelievingly.

"I can't believe you made a deal with that git!"

"What did you want me to do Padfoot? It was either learn to be civil to Lucius or lose Lily, even as a friend." James sighed and shook his head as he stood up. He heard Lily laugh in the dormitory stairs and saw her descend a few moments later.

"Goodnight you three." Lily walked over and kissed each of them on the cheek, making James' heartbeat increase to an unhealthy level. "I wanted to say thanks for being there for my girls you know?" With that, Lily smiled and walked up the stairs to her dormitory.

"I'm going to bed," James said dryly. Without a backwards glance at either of his friends, James proceeded up the stairs.

A/N: Hello all! Sorry for the long wait! Many natural phenomenons have been keeping me from posting this chapter; so blame it on nature not me! Anywho, isn't James such a sweetie?! I know you all hate Lucius (the stream of death threats is pretty steady), but I promise that he serves a purpose! So become one with the calmness and try not to retch when he and Lily snog, hehe! Thanks a bunch for reading, but you can make me lots of the happy by reviewing!

**Dans-girl-4ever:** LOL, I'm glad you liked it. I know, it makes me a tad queasy to write those scenes ... but its part of the plot, so I trudge through it. I've read your story ... LOL, sorry this took so long to post! How was this?

**Shoe Malfoy:** Holy Mother of Moose! LOL, I was afraid you had dropped off the face of the earth or something! Hehe, jk. I'm so flattered. Lucius' darker side won't really come out, for reasons known to only myself! Mwahaha! But anywho, how was this chapter?

**Daleia:** Well, yeah, you're supposed to hate Diggory. And I love Lily's temper! It's going to come out a lot in later chapters! Well, you know that the Nile isn't just a river in Egypt (haha, that was cheesy!). I know, nice Lucius is hard to picture, but there is a purpose! LMAO! I'm sorry that I grossed you out so much with that scene! Hehe it burns the eyes! It won't get better in regards to that for a while, sorry!

**ATTENTION:** Alrighty, so here's my little tid bit of advice if you readers would like some foreshadowy goodness. This won't really get explained in this fic, but take a look at chapter 14 of "Days" (my other fic). I will strongly suggest that you all read it later on down the road, but for now it's just a bit of foreshadowy goodness! And if you figure it out and leave the right answer in a review ... you will get kudo points!

**Disclaimer:** I feel pretty, oh so pretty, and witty and fun ... actually, I don't feel witty so you'll have to deal with this disclaimer being plain and simple: I don't own Harry Potter!


	8. The Fine Line Between Love and Hate

Chapter 8

Lily jumped slightly and let out a little yelp as someone put their hands over her eyes. A few seconds later, she felt warm breath on her ear and hear someone whisper, "Care to go for a little fly around the pitch?" Lily chuckled, taking the hands in her own and pulling them down off her eyes. She looked up at the man behind her and, turning, gave him a quick kiss.

"I've got to finish my homework, sweetheart."

"Please, Lily? You've got the entire weekend to do your homework. Even if you let me take you to Hogsmeade, you'll have all of Sunday. Please?" Lily sighed exasperatedly and smiled.

"I promised everyone I'd spend Sunday with them, seeing as I haven't spent much time with them between the fight and then the thing in the forest. But we'll be together all day tomorrow, with Hogsmeade and what not. I'm really sorry, Lucius, but I need to finish this. You know I would if I could." Lucius sighed and sat down next to Lily, kissing her softly on the cheek.

"Alright, love. I guess I should work on my homework as well." Despite the disappointment in his voice, Lucius still managed a smile as Lily handed him a piece of parchment and quill.

**Quidditch Pitch**

"If it isn't Miss Mae-Anne." Bryant smirked as he hovered near Mae; she was sprawled out in the middle of the quidditch field, looking up at the stars. "Watcha doin?"

"What's it look like I'm doing you dolt? I'm looking at the stars." She smiled inwardly as Bryant touched down and walked over to her. He sat down next to her cross-legged, watching her. "What?"

"I don't want to ruin this … it's serene and everything out here –"

"_But._" Bryant chuckled and shook his head before continuing.

"But … I want to know what we are, Mae." Mae sat up and looked him in the eye, with a confused expression on her face.

"What do you mean?"

"Listen, Mae-Anne," Mae smiled at Bryant's affectionate nickname for her, he was the only one that ever called her that, but she liked it. "I can't do this anymore, okay? I can't go from day to day wondering if how you're going to act the next day. I … I love you; you know that. I've loved you since the moment I met you. But I want there to be an 'us'; something relatively permanent. I don't like this business of changing what's going on every day. If we can't nail ourselves down to a definitive relationship … then maybe, we aren't meant to have one."

Mae felt like she had just been hit with a sledgehammer; she never thought Bryant would go so far as to say he didn't want a relationship with her.

"I … Bryant … I don't …" Mae shook her head and screwed up her face, trying to keep back the tears. She looked at Bryant, who was just staring at her, expressionless. This was just too much; bursting into tears Mae sprinted back towards the school.

**An Hour Later**

"Oy! Bryant! You going to come down and tell me what's wrong?" Remus smirked as Bryant threw him a look that could kill. "Hmm, I guess that's a no. Well, I'll just have to talk to Mae then." Remus started towards the school but, just like he had planned, Bryant flew in front of him only seconds later.

"Damn you, Moony." Bryant touched down and started walking back towards the center of the pitch, dragging Remus behind him. "Sit," he stated dryly, pointing a finger at the ground.

"My wish is your command, oh wise master." Remus snickered as Bryant tried to stifle his own chuckle. Remus sat down and then looked up at Bryant, expectantly. Bryant observed that he looked strikingly similar to a five year old waiting to hear a story, but immediately shook the thought from his head. "So what happened?"

"I tried to talk to Mae about … having a definitive relationship. You know?" Remus nodded, wordlessly. "Yeah, well … she burst out crying and ran away. I may be dense when it comes to women, but I'm no fool. I know she won't talk to me … not for a while a least. I know Mae …" Bryant trailed off and avoided Remus' eyes.

"Honestly!" Remus stood up and threw his hands in the air. "First James, now you, next it'll be Sirius! My god!" He ran his hands through his hair, frustrated.

"Oh shut up Remus! D'you honestly think I would be in this position if I had a choice! I don't even know what I did wrong!" Remus sighed heavily and shot Bryant a sympathetic, apologetic look.

"I'm going to talk to Lily, she'll know what to do. We'll fix this, I promise." Bryant smiled gratefully as Remus clapped him on the back.

"What would we do without you Moony?"

"I tell you one thing, you'd all be single and miserable." Remus shook his head, smiling, for a moment before starting back towards the school.

**Gryffindor Girls' Dormitory**

"He doesn't want to have a relationship anymore!" Mae wailed. She buried her face in a pillow, sobbing violently.

"Shh, Mae, honey, it's going to be okay." Gina rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her down, to no avail. Mae's head was in Toni's lap and Gina and Lily were sitting on either side of her on the bed.

Lily caught Gina's eye and mouthed 'going to talk to Remus'. Gina nodded in understanding as Lily crept off the bed and out of the dormitory. She ran down the dormitory steps and reached the Common Room just as Remus, James, Sirius, and Bryant strolled in. "You!" She pointed a finger at Bryant, glaring menacingly. He started to back away, but Lily was much too quick and caught him by the collar. "D'you have any idea what you have done!" she screamed.

"Lily, come on, now. Let's just calm down for one second and think about this." James and Sirius tried to pull Lily away from Bryant but she wrenched her arms out of their grips.

"Think about this James! Think about it! My best friend is upstairs crying her eyes out and you want me to think about it!"

"Lillian Matilda Evans, will you please sit down so you and I, the only two rational people in this group, can talk about things?" Remus asked calmly.

"Don't you even start with me Remus Alexander Lupin!"

"Alexander!" James, Sirius, and Bryant asked at the same time before bursting out laughing.

"Oh dry up. Come on, Remus. We're obviously not going to get anywhere with these three and I need to get my wand before I can hex his manhood off." Bryant immediately stopped laughing and swallowed hard at Lily's statement. He watched with big eyes as she and Remus made their way up to the boys' dormitory.

"Damn … I really screwed up, yeah?"

"Damn straight you did. Look, my fuzzy friend, Lily and Remus are involved now. And that means things will work out." Sirius smiled and clapped Bryant on the back reassuringly.

**Gryffindor Boys' Dormitory**

"Well perhaps if Mae wasn't so bloody stubborn, then Bryant wouldn't be feeling the way he is!"

"Oh, so now it's Mae's fault, eh? That's rich, Remus, that's oh so rich," Lily replied bitterly.

"Okay …" Remus said slowly. Lily was running her hands through her long red hair repeatedly, trying to figure out what they were going to do to fix things. "Alright, Lil. Why don't you tell me what's really going on?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Lily snapped, a little too quickly.

"Yeah, because I'm really supposed to believe that right?"

"Ah, you narky bastard." Lily started to leave the dormitory, but Remus caught her around the waist and pushed her back in, putting himself between her and the door.

"Okay, now I know something is seriously wrong. You never swear. So sit down and tell me what's going on." Lily sighed and flopped down on Remus' bed, burying her face in her hands. Even more worried now; Remus sat down next to her and squeezed her shoulder. "Lily, I've known you since we were little, you can tell me anything. You know that." She sighed again and nodded.

"Lucius … his dad is … do you know about that new wizard that's rising to power? The one that everyone's afraid of?"

"Umm, yeah, Volderpot or something like that. What of it?"

"Lucius' dad is … in with him. It's some bad shit, Rem. Dark Arts and stuff like that. Besides that, if Lucius' dad ever found out about me … he'd kill me or Lucius or both of us." Remus pulled her into a tight, comforting hug.

"Shh, Lil, I'm sure its okay." She pushed him away, standing up, and sniffed indignantly.

"No, Rem. It's not okay! Don't you get it! If he finds out about this, about Lucius and I, Lucius is dead. No questions asked. Dead. His father expects him to become a Death Feeder or something. Something about a follower of the Dark Lord." Her voice was taking on a more than slightly hysterical tone. "But I love him, Remus. What am I supposed to do!"

Remus stood up and enveloped her in a hug again. "That's not for me to tell you, Lily. That's for you and Lucius to decide." She nodded wordlessly as she pulled away.

"I'm sorry, Moony. I just … it was hard and … I needed to tell someone." She wiped away the few tears that had leaked out of her eyes and took a deep breath. "Right now, we need to figure out what we're going to do about Mae and Bryant. She needs time." Remus shot her another worried look before resigning himself to the fact that she had definitely closed the conversation about Lucius and Voldemop, or whatever his name was.

"Bryant didn't mean what he said to her. At least not in the context she took it. He loves her, we all know that, and she loves him just as much. But Bryant doesn't want to and can't deal with her fickleness, and frankly, I agree with him." Lily scoffed and shook her head.

"You don't get it, Remus. Mae is … it's not my place to tell you. But until Bryant can make things right, on his own … there's nothing we can do. We can't interfere with this one." Her expression had changed to one of frustrated sadness, with a touch of contempt, none of which Remus understood.

"But, Lily, _why_!" Lily and Remus looked up to see Bryant standing just outside the open door of the dormitory, a sad, confused look on his face.

"You wouldn't understand." With that, Lily left the men to themselves. A few moments later, she heard a strangled cry and saw a black cat dash out of the Common Room, as she started to walk up the girls' dormitory stairs. She shook her head as she reached the dormitory and Mae's bitter sobbing reached her ears again.

A/N: I'm soooooo sorry to all of you readers! I know I've been horrible! This will be re-posted again soon once its beta'd and I'll answer all review there, sorry again but I don't have time to do that right now. Please review, even though I've been a horrible person!


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